Marilyn Stasio just reviewed books by two of the August authors at the Poisoned Pen. Stasio’s Crime column in The New York Times features reviews of Michael Koryta’s Rise the Dark and Erik Storey’s Nothing Short of Dying. https://nyti.ms/2b8HgIC

Koryta was just at the Pen, and Storey will be here Wednesday, August 24 at 7 PM. And, of course, signed books by both authors are available through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Michael Koryta was just at The Poisoned Pen on his book tour for Rise the Dark.

Here’s the summary of the book, as it appears in the Web Store.

“Mark Novak’s greatest mystery may be his own…

Rise the dark. These were the last words written in Lauren Novak’s notebook before she was murdered in a strange Florida village. They’ve never meant anything to the police or to her husband, investigator Markus Novak. Now the man he believes killed her is out of prison, and draws Markus to the place he’s avoided for so long: the lonely road where his wife was shot to death beneath the cypress trees and Spanish moss in a town called Cassadaga.

In Red Lodge, Montana, a senseless act of vandalism shuts the lights off in the town where Sabrina Baldwin is still trying to adjust to a new home and mourning the loss of her brother, who was a high voltage linesman just like her husband, Jay. As the spring’s final snowstorm calls Jay deeper into the mountains, chasing the destruction on the electrical grid, Sabrina is abducted by Garland Webb, the man Markus Novak believes killed his wife. Drawing them all together is a messianic villain who understands that you can never outpace your past. You can only rise against the future.”

Intrigued? If you would like to hear Michael Koryta discuss Rise the Dark, along with other topics, with Patrick Millikin, check out the Livestream event. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/5722778

And, don’t forget, you can order signed copies of Rise the Dark through the Web Store.

https://store.poisonedpen.com

The European Union Intellectual Property Office recently released a report saying €1.3 billion is lost every year across the EU due to fake spirits and wine. That report “shows that 4.4% of legitimate sales of spirits and 2.3% of legitimate sales of wine are lost each year due to counterfeiting of alcoholic drinks. Those lost sales translate into 4,800 jobs directly lost across the spirits and wine sectors in the EU, as legitimate manufacturers employ fewer people than they would have done in the absence of counterfeiting.”

Sound familiar? It might, if you read Jeffrey Siger’s Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mysteries. Here’s the description of his last book, Devil of Delphi.

Delphi once stood at the center of the world, a mountainous, verdant home to the gods, where kings and warriors journeyed to hear its Oracle speak. The Oracle embodied the decree of the gods—or at least the word of Apollo. To disobey risked…everything.

Young Athenian Kharon chooses modern Delphi to rebuild his life among its rolling hills and endless olive groves. But his dark past is too celebrated, and his assassin’s skills so in demand, that his fate does not rest entirely in his own hands. Greece is being flooded with bomba, counterfeits of the most celebrated alcoholic beverages and wine brands. The legitimate annual trillion-dollar world market is in peril. So, too, are consumers—someone is not just counterfeiting booze, but adulterating it, often with poisonous substances. Who is masterminding this immensely lucrative conspiracy?

Kharon learns who when the ruthless criminal gives him no choice but to serve her. Her decrees are as absolute as the Oracle’s, and as fearsomely punished. Kharon agrees, but dictates his own payoff. And his own methods, which allow his targets some choice in the outcomes.

When Kharon unexpectedly shoots a member of one of Greece’s richest, most feared families, he draws Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis into the eye of a political and media firestorm threatening to bring down Greece’s government. Think “Breaking Bad,” Greek-style.

*****

Jeffrey always seems to have his pulse on Greece’s problems. You can order a signed copy or a paperback of Devil of Delphi through the Web Store.  https://bit.ly/2b2rtAS

Watch here for an interview with Jeffrey Siger, and information about the new Andreas Kaldis mystery, Santorini Caesars, due out in September.

Lucy Feldman recently wrote a post for the Wall Street Journal called “Three Approaches to Thriller Writing”. She discusses three authors who are hot this month, Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me, Blake Crouch, the author of Dark Matter, and the man she calls “The Franchise Player”, James Patterson. You can find the article here. https://www.wsj.com/articles/three-approaches-to-thriller-writing-1469122570

And you will find books by the authors through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com

Lisa Scottoline kicked off her book tour for Damaged at The Poisoned Pen. Damaged is the latest Rosato & DiNunzio novel.

We have pictures from this program, beginning with Scottoline signing books in the back room. That’s quite a few books to sign!

Then, there’s that long walk from the front of the store.

Patrick Millikin introduced Lisa Scottoline.

The blurb on the Web Store’s page says, “Damaged finds Mary DiNunzio, partner at the all-female law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio, embroiled in one of her most heartbreaking cases yet.” Here’s Lisa talking about the book.

It was a full house for the event.

I’ve been in one of those signing lines for Lisa Scottoline. She’s funny and kind.

If you missed the event, you can watch it via Livestream. https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/5722768  This is one event you really want to listen to, if you’ve never heard Lisa Scottoline.

As always, we have signed copies of Damaged available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2bkVtWs

Michael Koryta appears at the Poisoned Pen at 7 PM on Thursday, Aug. 18 on his book tour for Rise the Dark.

But, before he appears here, he appeared at Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch. This article appeared in Shelf Awareness on July 1.

Image of the Day: Michael Koryta, Bronx Bomber

photo courtesy New York Yankees On Tuesday night, suspense author Michael Koryta threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium before the game against the Texas Rangers. (Shelf Awareness judged it a strike!) He also signed copies of his most recent book, Last Words (Little, Brown), and some 10,000 fans were given cards for downloading an e-book version of Koryta’s The Last Prophet, the first e-book promotion of its kind in major league sports.

Now, Koryta will be here at the store pitching to readers. If you’d like a signed copy of Rise the Dark, you can purchase it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2blguR3

Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist, now brings us Surrender, New York, in which one of the characters is an expert on Laszlo Kreizler, the Alienist. Release date is August 23.

You can read Michael Connelly’s review of the dense thriller in The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/2aV1MvO

And, of course, you can order the book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2b75Exr

Following her award nominations, Beth Cato will be appearing at the Poisoned Pen to discuss Breath of Earth, her alternate history set in San Francisco in 1906. She’ll be at the Poisoned Pen on Monday, August 22 at 7 PM.

AZCentral.com just published an excellent interview with Cato by Michael Senft. Here’s the link if you would like to read it. https://bit.ly/2aTgMuh

Even if you can’t get to the Poisoned Pen on August 22, you can order a signed copy of Beth Cato’s Breath of Earth through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2aUIrRn

Rhys Bowen recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen to discuss her latest Royal Spyness book, Crowned and Dangerous.

For those of you who were unable to be at the bookstore that night, the program is published on Livestream if you’d like to watch it.

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Don’t forget, you can get signed copies of Crowned and Dangerous through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com